Author: The Horizon

A ‘Shocking’ Amount of the Web Is Already AI-Translated Trash, Scientists Determine

The internet is filled with machine-translated content, particularly in languages spoken in Africa and the Global South, raising concerns about the quality of large language models. Researchers found that over half of the sentences on the web have been translated into two or more languages, with varying degrees of quality, leading to serious concerns about […]

Microsoft makes its AI-powered reading tutor free

Microsoft has made its AI-powered tool, Reading Coach, available for free to anyone with a Microsoft account. The tool aims to provide personalized reading practice for learners, integrating with learning management systems in the near future.   Reading Coach helps learners identify and practice challenging words, offers tools such as text-to-speech and picture dictionaries for […]

AI-driven platform discovers PHD inhibitor for anemia treatment

In Silico Medicine’s Chemistry42 platform has led to the discovery of a novel PHD inhibitor for the treatment of anemia. The inhibitor has shown promising results in treating anemia induced by chronic kidney disease (CKD), with potential global implications. Utilizing structure-based drug discovery and AI-generated candidates, the lead compound 15 demonstrated favorable in vitro/in vivo […]

Elon Musk says to expect roughly 1 billion humanoid robots in 2040s

Elon Musk, the billionaire CEO of Tesla, agrees with a tech leader’s prediction that there will be about 1 billion humanoid robots on Earth by the 2040s and a hundred billion robots throughout the solar system by the 2060s. This prediction is contingent on the stability of civilization’s foundations.   Musk revealed Tesla’s humanoid robot […]

States could already produce AI malware that evades detection

AI-generated malware that evades detection may already be accessible to nation states, posing a significant cybersecurity threat. This powerful software could be created by training an AI model on exploit data to generate new code that bypasses current security measures.   The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) believes that highly capable states may possess […]

Etsy launches ‘Gift Mode,’ a new AI-powered feature that generates 200+ gift guides

Etsy has launched a new AI-powered feature called “Gift Mode” to help users discover personalized gift ideas based on specific preferences. The feature is essentially an online quiz that inquires about the recipient and the occasion, generating personalized gift guides from over 100 million items listed on the platform. It offers a “gift teaser” option […]

Singapore SMBs offered handbook on training their workforce for GenAI

Singapore has released a handbook titled “Generative AI for the Tech Workforce” to help local businesses, especially small and midsize ones, integrate generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) into their operations. This resource guide, developed in collaboration with government agencies, outlines use cases for GenAI, employee profiles, and necessary skillsets. It also emphasizes the importance of skills […]

Most Top News Sites Block AI Bots. Right-Wing Media Welcomes Them

The chaotic web of online media is given more layers than an onion as news outlets step up maneuvers against AI data collection. The left and right clash in a digital battleground of bots and bias, with nine out of ten liberal-leaning news sites now blocking AI web crawlers. A cacophony of debate ensues, with […]

Apple Big AI Push Could Come in iOS 18, Analysts Say

Apple has been relatively absent from the AI hype cycle, but analysts anticipate a move into AI with iOS 18 at the upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference. CEO Tim Cook’s strategy of letting competitors go first has positioned Apple to make a significant impact with its slow and steady AI efforts, backed by the acquisition of […]

Deepfake deluge expected from AI image generation breakthrough (so long, LoRA?)

In the tech world, there’s a buzz around a new AI image generation method called InstantID by the InstantX team in Beijing. This cutting-edge tool has the ability to quickly recognize individuals and generate new images based on a single reference. While some hail it as revolutionary, others like Reuven Cohen, an enterprise AI consultant, […]

There’s an AI ‘brain drain’ in academia

Move over, academia – the AI industry is making it rain for PhD grads. According to Stanford’s 2021 AI Index Report, the number of new AI PhDs diving into the AI industry post-graduation has been on a steady incline, while the share entering academia is dwindling. With companies like OpenAI and Google waving salaries in […]

SingleStore CEO sees little future for purpose-built vector databases

SingleStore, formerly known as MemSQL, has introduced the SingleStore Pro Max database, integrating new capabilities to support generative AI applications and retrieval augmented generation (RAG) use cases, building on its existing vector support since 2017.   The database, known for its Hybrid Transactional and Analytical Processing (HTAP) capabilities, enhances support for vector search across structured […]

90% of IT leaders say it’s tough to integrate AI with other systems

The 2024 Connectivity Benchmark Report by MuleSoft, in collaboration with Vanson Bourne and Deloitte Digital, reveals the challenges and opportunities organizations face in integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into their operations. The report is based on interviews with 1,050 IT leaders across the globe and highlights several key insights: Over three-quarters of organizations are using multiple […]

Chatbots Are Developing an Understanding of the World, Scientists Claim

Artificial intelligence is making surprising strides, suggesting a deeper understanding of the world. Researchers from Princeton and Google DeepMind found evidence that large language models (LLMs) are producing outputs that go beyond their training data, indicating an ability to understand and output accordingly. These models seem to be developing skills absent from their training data […]

OpenAI cures GPT-4 ‘laziness’ with new updates

OpenAI has raised the bar in the AI domain with the introduction of the GPT-4 Turbo, which boasts enhanced code generation capabilities, reducing “laziness” issues experienced with the previous model. In response to users’ frustrations with the lack of GPT-4 updates, OpenAI clarified that the recent update is specifically for the GPT-4 Turbo, which contains […]

Explicit AI deepfakes of Taylor Swift have fans and lawmakers up in arms

Taylor Swift’s likeness was used in AI-generated deepfake still images and videos depicting explicit sexual activities, which provoked widespread condemnation and calls for increased regulation of generative AI.   Lawmakers, such as Congressman Tom Kean Jr., have introduced bills to regulate AI, including requiring clear labeling of AI-generated content and permitting victims of nonconsensual deepfakes […]

Google reveals Lumiere, a text-to-video diffusion model

At the intersection of art and artificial intelligence, Google Research has introduced the Lumiere model, a groundbreaking text-to-video diffusion model. Lumiere is designed to address the challenges of creating realistic, diverse, and coherent motion in video generation, offering a significant upgrade in video quality compared to existing models. The model can generate videos from text […]

Hugging Face teams up with Google to accelerate open AI development

The AI landscape is abuzz with the latest strategic collaboration between tech giants Google and Hugging Face. The collaboration aims to empower developers with seamless access to Google Cloud services, fostering the rapid development of open generative AI applications.   This partnership enables teams utilizing Hugging Face’s open-source models to harness the resources of Google […]

PayPal to pilot new AI-powered updates, including a cash-back feature and ‘Smart Receipts’

PayPal is piloting new updates to its service, including a personalized cash-back offering called “CashPass,” an AI-powered “Smart Receipts” feature, enhanced checkout experiences, and Venmo enhancements for small businesses.   The CashPass feature will offer personalized cash-back offers from partners such as Best Buy, eBay, Priceline, Ticketmaster, Uber, Walmart, and McDonald’s, with the ability to […]